Why Choose WWS For Your Graduate Education?

There are many schools of public policy around the world. What sets the Woodrow Wilson School apart:

CommunityOur students are part of an energetic, intellectually stimulating community that includes more than 4,000 alumni who are committed to improving the world through public service, advocacy, evidence-based scholarship and public/private partnerships. With fewer than 200 fellow graduate students enrolled at any given time - including approximately 130-140 MPA students, 15-25 MPP students and 30-40 Ph.D. students - you will make lifelong friendships and develop strong professional networks.

Financial AidOther schools ask you to invest in your education. At WWS, we invest in you. Generous financial aid packages allow students to enter public service upon graduation without being encumbered by debt.

Career ServicesNo one simply hands you a job binder at WWS. Individualized help is provided at every stage of your search for challenging and rewarding opportunities: preparing résumés, honing interview skills and finding interesting internships and jobs placements.

Research FacultyMost Wilson School faculty members have co-appointments with disciplinary departments. Members represent a variety of social sciences such as economics, political science, psychology, sociology and demography, computer science and history. Some also come from the natural sciences, including ecology, geoscience, atmospheric chemistry and even astrophysics. In just the past dozen years, two faculty members have won Nobel prizes in the field of economics.

Public Servants as TeachersMany of our faculty have high-level policy experience. Among them are former members of the White House Council of Economic Advisers (including the most recent chairman), former chief economists at the Labor Department, the former chief technologist in the Federal Trade Commission, and several former U.S. ambassadors. Because of the small size of the School, your interaction with such faculty members will go far deeper than listening to lectures and writing papers.

CurriculumThe WWS curriculum is rigorous yet flexible, combining a core of micro and macroeconomics, econometrics and political and behavioral analysis, with specialized classes in a wide variety of policy topics. Master’s students participate in policy workshops that allow them to use their developed skills to analyze specific policy issues and create reports for real clients.

Public Affairs From casual lunch-time talks to more formal afternoon forums, WWS students have frequent opportunities to hear and interact with key national and international policymakers. Check out the events calendar. Many public talks are followed by intimate dinner gatherings attended by the speakers and interested WWS students.

Student Spotlight

The Woodrow Wilson School has transformed the way I think about public policy. The School produces leaders who are trained to distinguish good ideas from bad ideas based on logic and facts, not political expediency.

“The Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy Program (STEP) serves a unique function at Princeton as the one place where scientific research and policy research are brought together to tackle some of the world’s most urgent environmental problems.”